Since 2009, Project Bookmark Canada has been building Canada's literary trail by putting pieces of stories and poems in the exact, physical locations where literary scenes are set. On October 18, 2025, the 31st bookmark, which pays tribute to the late Budge Wilson, will be unveiled at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia.
The bookmark will honour Budge's short story collection, The Leaving, which won the Canadian Library Association's Young Adult Book Award in 1991. Selected by the Nova Scotia Reading Circle, the passage is a powerful narrative of a quiet act of rebellion and emancipation and evokes the City of Halifax and the Dalhousie campus in vivid detail.
“Budge Wilson was one of Atlantic Canadian Literature’s most important, most prolific and best-loved writers,” says Alexander MacLeod, acclaimed writer, Saint Mary’s University professor, and a member of the Nova Scotia Reading Circle. “‘The Leaving’ holds a special place in her writing career. It is one of the most influential pieces Wilson ever wrote, and one of the most important works of literature to ever ‘take in’ the urban landscape of Halifax.”
The unveiling will take place at 3 pm on October 18, 2025 at the east side of Shirreff Hall, 6385 South Street, Halifax. A reception will follow at 3:30 pm in the council chambers at the Dalhousie Student Union Building, 6136 University Ave., Halifax. All are welcome.
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